Obadiah 8-10

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Obadiah 1:8 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV, NIV); cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV “on that day.”
2. Obadiah 1:8 tn Heb “Will I not destroy those who are wise from Edom?” The rhetorical question functions as an emphatic affirmation. For the sake of clarity this has been represented by the emphatic indicative in the translation.
3. Obadiah 1:8 tn Heb “understanding”; cf. NIV “men of understanding.” This undoubtedly refers to members of the royal court who offered political and military advice to the Edomite kings. In the ancient Near East, such men of wisdom were often associated with divination and occultic practices (cf. Isa 3:3; 47:10, 13). The Edomites were also renowned in the ancient Near East as a center of traditional sagacity and wisdom; perhaps that is referred to here (cf. Jer 49:7).
4. Obadiah 1:9 sn Teman, like Sela, was a prominent city of Edom. The name Teman is derived from the name of a grandson of Esau (cf. Gen 36:11). Here it is a synecdoche of part for whole, standing for all of Edom.
5. Obadiah 1:9 tn The Hebrew word used here (לְמַעַן, l^emaʿan) usually expresses purpose. The sense in this context, however, is more likely that of result.
6. Obadiah 1:9 tn Heb “a man,” meaning “every single person” here; cf. KJV “every one.”
7. Obadiah 1:9 tn Heb “cut off” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); cf. NIV, NLT “cut down,” CEV “wiped out.”
8. Obadiah 1:10 tn Heb “from.” The preposition is used here with a causal sense.
9. Obadiah 1:10 tn Heb “because of the slaughter and because of the violence.” These two expressions form a hendiadys meaning “because of the violent slaughter.” Traditional understanding connects the first phrase “because of the slaughter” with the end of v. 9 (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NLT). It is preferable, however, to regard it as parallel to the reference to violence at the beginning of v. 11. Both the parallel linguistic structure of the two phrases and the metrical structure of the verse favor connecting this phrase with the beginning of v. 10 (cf. NRSV, TEV).
10. Obadiah 1:10 tn Heb “the violence of your brother.” The genitive construction is to be understood as an objective genitive. The meaning is not that Jacob has perpetrated violence (= subjective genitive) but that violence has been committed against him (= objective genitive).
11. Obadiah 1:10 tn Heb “your brother Jacob” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); cf. NCV “your relatives, the Israelites.”
12. Obadiah 1:10 tn Heb “be cut off” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).